The Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences will hold a luncheon on Saturday, September 22, at the Windjammer Restaurant in South Burlington to honor four newly elected Fellows:

Barre sculptor Giuliano Cecchinelli

Former executive director of the Vermont Humanities Council Peter A. Gilbert

UVM professor emerita of Nutrition and Food Science Rachel K. Johnson

Former librarian of the Vermont Historical Society Reidun Nuquist.

The luncheon is open to all and to join us, please fill out this form. The VAAS annually recognizes a selection of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts, humanities, sciences, or education in Vermont, or whose work in these fields has made a significant impact in Vermont. VAAS Fellows have accrued significant and longstanding accomplishments and are considered to be exemplary within their professions. Please join us in congratulating our new Fellows!

French Connections : Franconnexions Conference

University of Vermont, Burlington

A conference highlighting the historical, cultural and economic contributions of French Canadians from Québec into Vermont and New England.

ABOUT

Between 1830 and 1930, close to one million immigrants from Québec poured into Vermont and New England, populating towns and villages, starting new businesses and farms. While many of these new immigrants settled closer to the border, others spread throughout Vermont and into New England. The influence of these new settlers on the state and region was vast, from politics to culture, to the economy. In many northern schools in Vermont, French was as frequently spoken as English. Today, while the phone book remains heavily dominated by French surnames, this huge influx of population is largely integrated. Yet some 25% of Vermonters trace their ancestry to French Canada.

In this conference we look at the past, the present and the future of these cross-border migrations and relationships. In three panels we examine this story, asking these fundamental questions:

Past: How and why was Vermont and New England populated by so many French Canadians in the 19th-early twentieth centuries? When, how and why did this massive influx assimilate?

Present: How do cross-border connections with Québec, in tourism and in trade, continue to shape the culture and economy of Northern New England?

Future: How does the French Canadian wave of immigration relate to current immigration trends? What can we learn from the past as we think about the future?

To learn more about the conference click here.To register for the conference click here.